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Kicking Up The Dirt - 2014-2015 Season Presentation Dinner
Joanne White posted Sunday July 12, 2015.

Last night over 150 people attended the Sprintcars Queensland Presentation Dinner to celebrate the successes of the 2014-2015 race season. The black tie event was held at Easts Leagues Club with drivers, crews, families and sponsors gathering for a night of good food and great company as we remembered an exciting and eventful season, and recognised the efforts and achievements of the many people who made the 2014-2015 race season one of our best to date.

The night started with a couple of very special awards. John Kelly, President of the Sprintcars Queensland Club and Archerfield Speedway Promoter, was awarded honourary Life Membership to the club. Unfortunately John was unable to attend last nights event, stranded in Bali by an unexpected ash cloud, but thanks to modern technology the club was able to Skype John in order to present his award. It probably goes without saying that John is one of the most dedicated speedway supporters in the country. While John is no stranger to criticism, and he does have a financial interest in the sport (he is a business man after all), he really does put more time and effort into our sport year in and year out than many people realise. His passion for the sport has undeniably helped shape both Sprintcar and Speedway racing in Queensland and everyone in Sprintcars Queensland thank John for all that he has done, and continues to do, for the sport.

Another person who works tirelessly for the betterment of Sprintcar Racing in Queensland is our Club Secretary Lyn Turner, and we as a club would be completely lost without her. For Lyn, who has no vested interest in any one driver or team, the entire club is family. Together with her partner and Sprintcars Queensland club Treasurer Mark Wode, she dedicates countess hours each week, on top of her regular full-time non-speedway job. Hers is a largely thankless job, one that eats so much into personal and family time, and gives very little back in return. Few people realise the amount of time Lyn sacrifices to make sure the club runs smoothly, to have everything organised and to make sure all the paperwork is in order. Together with Mark she had been instrumental in building the Sprintcars Queensland club into the club that it is today. The club struggled to get twelve cars to a show when Lyn first joined us over a decade ago, we now regularly get more than double that on a weekly basis. We had not run a B-Main event for years, and now run one virtually every race meeting. Sprintcars Queensland owe so much to both Mark and Lyn, and while Mark was awarded honourary lifetime membership a few years ago, last night we had the privilege of offering the same to Lyn as well. There are simply no words that can adequately portray how thankful the entire Sprintcars Queensland Club are for the efforts and passion of all our lifetime members.

Also an invaluable part of our club are the various sponsors who have helped make the 2014-2015 race season everything that is was. We had two Brisbane-based series this season - the first sponsored by SuperCheap Auto and the second by East Coast Logistics - each of whom was presented with an Appreciation Award at last nights Dinner. Darra Mechanical, Kratzmann Caravans, Myla Graphics, Right Price Exhausts, Lucas Oils and Sprint Shack all sponsored various contingency prizes across the season that benefited many of our club drivers. Their contribution, as always, is invaluable. Kreilynd Robinson, who organised the 50/50 raffle at each event, was also thanked for her efforts this season.

Sprintcars Queensland Officials Glen Wilson, David Tracey, Ken Thorne and Chris Dvorak have put in a spectacular effort this season, often first on the scene of a crash, and there were quite a number of nasty wrecks this past season. Each and every race meeting these volunteers were trackside looking out for our drivers, tending to injured drivers, putting out fires and doing whatever they could to try to keep our drivers safe. We cannot thank these gentlemen enough for all that they do and the effort they put in.

The very hotly contested Right Price Exhausts Heat Race Points Championship literally went down to the last race of the season, with Kevin Titman just managing to beat Andrew Scheuerle by a meagre three points. Titman has long been a standout performer in qualifying and this season, clearly, has really stepped up his consistency in the heats and very much earned his place atop the Heat Race Points Championship.

Fifteen cars qualified in the SuperCheap Auto Sprintcar Series. The Series literally went down to the very last race of the season. With both first and second in series (Luke Oldfield and Andrew Scheuerle) crashing out of the event in the first of two feature events of the night, Bryan Mann only needed a decent finish in the last race to secure the Championship. Bryan more than got the job done on the night, his season long effort and consistently good results enough to earn himself the SuperCheap Auto Series Championship. Andrew Scheuerle finished second ahead of Luke Oldfield in third, but all three drivers should be commended on their efforts. At the time of the crash that destroyed the championship dreams of both Oldfield and Scheuerle, Oldfield had just passed Scheuerle on the track and held a slender one point lead in the series with a little over one race left to run. To have just one point difference in a championship that was contested over fourteen rounds, is absolutely remarkable, keeping everyone on their toes to the final fall of the chequered flag. Fourth place in the series was Kevin Titman, and while he would have loved a top three finish, Titman can be proud of the exceptional effort he put in this season. He and the team have come a long way and are certainly set be a serious contender next season. Brent Kratzmann rounded out the top five overall in the SuperCheap Auto Series, with a series of strong and consistent results. Mick Sauer only narrowly missed a spot inside the top five, officially finishing an impressive sixth, with David Whell, Mark Pholi, Brock Dean and Andrew Liebke rounding out the top ten. Dan Murray, Ben Hilder, David Fanning, Dan Moes and Paul Rooks completed the fifteen qualifiers.

David Murcott, who is currently racing in America, won the East Coast Logistics Sprintcar Series with Bryan Mann in second and Andrew Scheuerle in third. Darren Jensen and Kevin Titman rounded out the top five, with Mitchell Gee, Brandon Rawlings, Andrew Liebke and Brent Kratzmann rounding out the qualifiers.

The Sprintcars Queensland Club Awards got under way with a Special Effort Award given to Michael Walsh. Michael travelled to Brisbane from Cairns to contest ten shows, determined to get a grip on the difficult Archerfield Speedway circuit.

Rookie of the Year is perhaps one of the most hotly contested awards of the year, with a number of Rookies joining the club this year and a depth of talent that ensures the future of the sport is in very capable hands. It was a difficult decision for the Sprintcars Queensland committee with two standout Rookie performers and the committee votes were split. Both David Fanning and Mitchell Gee would have been very well deserving winners of this award, but with only one able to be crowned Rookie of the Year, it was Mitchell who scored the trophy.

The Rising Star Award was this year presented to young Callum Walker, who coincidentally celebrates his seventeenth birthday today. Callum is a spectacular young talent and certainly one you will want to keep a close eye on next season.

Three Encouragement Awards were handed out last night, with David Fanning, Brandon Rawlings and Andrew Liebke all being recognised for their unwavering passion and perseverance, while Mick Sauer was judged the Most Improved driver of the season.

The one award that no-one really wants to win, the Wings Award – for most frequent and/or most spectacular crash of the season – was also rather hotly contested. In fact, while David Fanning and Mitchell Gee argued over the Rookie of the Year title, they also battled it out for the wings Award. Both drivers had some monumental wrecks across the season but this time it was David Fanning who secured the award. David’s acceptance speech was easily the best of the night, making light of the competition with the Consol Racing team-mates of Mitchell Gee and Brandon Rawlings they each tore up multiple cars. Fortunately despite Fanning, Gee and Rawlings all having multiple massive wrecks, no serious injuries were sustained.

The coveted Greg ‘Crispy’ McClennan Trophy was this year given to a very honoured Brent Kratzmann, while Luke Oldfield took out the Best Presented Car. Spence Family Racing took out Best Presented Crew, while Drew Gessner took home Crew Chief of the Year for his tireless work on the Q16 racer of Bryan Mann.

This season we had two recipients of the Clubmen of the Year award, given only to those who contest every single Sprintcars Queensland club show for the season. Andrew Scheuerle and Kevin Titman were the only two drivers in the club to make it to each and every race meeting of the 2014-2015 race season, a mammoth effort from both teams.

Andrew Scheuerle took out the Club Championship with Bryan Mann in second and Kevin Titman in third. Bryan Mann also managed to win the Archerfield Speedway Sprintcar Track Championship and, it came as no surprise to anyone in the room that Mann also received the Drivers Driver Award. The Drivers Driver award is voted on by the drivers present at the presentation dinner, with Mann being recognised as one of the nicest people in speedway and the one the other drivers particularly respect and enjoy racing with.

And with that, the 2014-2015 race season has officially come to a close. It has been a remarkable season, with each of the championships being decided on their finial night of competition. For the fist time in many years we have a real variety of Championship winners, with Bryan Mann, David Murcott, Andrew Scheuerle and Kevin Titman all taking home major awards and showing just how strong the competition is here is South East Queensland. Add to that people like Luke Oldfield, Darren Jensen, Brent Kratzmann, Mick Sauer, David Whell and Andrew Liebke and you’ve already got a fierce field set for the 2015-2016 race season. And that’s not including the host of young up and coming stars like Mitchell Gee, Callum Walker and Brandon Rawlings who are sure to add to the excitement on track next season. Wherever you are, whatever you are doing, enjoy the winter off season, but be sure to get yourself trackside for the 2015-2016 race season - you won’t want to miss a moment of the action! See you trackside!

 

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